1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly and a display device having the same, and more particularly, to a backlight assembly and a display device having the same, in which the generation of dark areas and bright areas is prevented such that light is uniformly supplied.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for flat panel display devices such as plasma display panel (PDP) devices, plasma-addressed liquid crystal (PALC) display panel devices, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices, since conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) devices cannot meet the demand for thin and large-scale display devices.
As the most popular flat panel display (FPD), the LCD includes a pair of substrates formed with electrodes and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates. The liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are realigned when a voltage is applied to the electrodes to thereby control the amount of light transmission and display a desired image.
Since the LCD is a non-emissive device, a backlight assembly that includes a light source must be included in the LCD in order to display images. The backlight assembly irradiates light from the rear of a liquid crystal panel, and functions as a surface light source that emits light over the entire area of the liquid crystal panel. Depending on the location of the light source, the backlight assembly is referred to as being either of the direct type or edge type. In the direct-type backlight assembly, the light source is positioned directly below the liquid crystal panel, while in the edge-type backlight assembly, the light source is positioned to the side of the liquid crystal panel and a light guide plate is used to transmit light over the entire area of the liquid crystal panel.
In order to enhance the quality of display devices, there is a need for a backlight assembly that is capable of uniformly supplying light to the display panel.